"It's My Birthday" (originally "Birthday") is a song by American rapper

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

featuring American singer Cody Wise. The song was recorded in 2014 and released as a single in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on May 27. The song is about celebrating every day as if it's your birthday. The song samples the Indian song "

Urvasi Urvasi "Urvasi Urvasi" is an Indian Tamil-language song composed by A. R. Rahman and written by Vairamuthu for the soundtrack of the 1994 film ''Kaadhalan''. The song features vocals by Suresh Peters, Shahul Hameed and A. R. Rahman himself. Other ...

" from

the soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

of the 1994 Indian film ''

Kaadhalan ''Kaadhalan'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by K. T. Kunjumon, who co-wrote the story. The film stars Prabhu Deva and Nagma (in her debut in Tamil cinema), alongside Vadivel ...

'', composed by the Academy award winner and Indian composer

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

. The song also includes samples of the Jamaican track "Fi Di Jockey" by

Aidonia Aidonia (born Sheldon Lawrence, 6 April 1981) is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist from Kingston, Jamaica. He became active in early 2004, and has released albums on the record labels, VP Records and Jag One Productions. Aidonia has al ...

and

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price OD (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant fl ...

. It received mixed to negative reviews from music critics, with some being negative towards will.i.am's lack of originality. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released in May 2014 to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

respectively. "It's My Birthday" topped the charts in the United Kingdom and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia. It was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the former country, will.i.am and Wise performed the song on the eight season of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' in May 2014.

Background and composition

Wise was spotted by will.i.am after a performance of "

Who's Lovin' You "Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terence T ...

" by

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

at a concert when he was 13 years old. After will.i.am saw Wise's performance, he flew Wise out and the two met. Wise was signed to

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

in early 2014 through the imprint of will.i.am and he recalled being offered a deal with the label a few days after singing for will.i.am and Interscope co-founder

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

. After developing his musical skills with will.i.am as his protégé, the two recorded "It's My Birthday" in 2014; the song has subsequently become what Wise is best known for. "It's My Birthday" is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

track that includes usage of

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...

. will.i.am explained the meaning of it during a web exclusive for ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'' on July 29, 2014 where he was joined by Wise, saying: "You get a license to do whatever you want on your birthday. I try to live in that celebrative, who-gives-a-f perspective and celebrate every day as if it was my birthday." The song uses a sample of composer

's track "

", from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 1994

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film ''

'', for both its intro and outro. A. R. Rahman revealed on May 21 via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he was partnering with will.i.am to recreate an early track of his, with will.i.am tweeting out thanks to Rahman the next day. will.i.am spoke about the process of sampling "Urvasi Urvasi" as part of the web exclusive on July 29, saying "We took portions of that song and put it over today's thick, urban electronic-type beat." The song contains an additional sample of the Jamaican track "Fi Di Jockey" by

and

, with vocals from Aidonia sampled on the chorus and Bounty Killer's chanting of his "Big Ship Sailing" catchphrase also sampled in the song. "It's My Birthday" is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...

and at a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 100 beats per minute (BPM).

Release and reception

The song was originally set to be titled "Birthday" when will.i.am announced on May 21, 2014 that he was planning to release it as a single with Wise on July 6. That same day, a snippet was shared of the song. "It's My Birthday" was released for digital download as a single in

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on May 27 and May 29 respectively, marking will.i.am's first musical release since the album '' #willpower'' in 2013. The song was later serviced to US

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio stations on June 24, 2014, and released as a single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on July 6, as previously announced by will.i.am. "It's My Birthday" received mixed to negative reviews from music critics, with will.i.am's lack of originality being mostly panned. Lewis Corner of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

'' gave the song three out of five stars, stating: "The final result doesn't wander too far away from his recent successful offerings, but with a hint of the new here and there, will.i.am proves once again he can have his cake and eat it whether it's his birthday or not." Christina Lee of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

'' wrote that "it's rather telling that not even the most bizarre parts of 'It's My Birthday' can distract from the cringeworthy lyrics ('Que bonita, que bonita / I can speak in Japanese / Kawaii, kawaii / Kawaii, I want your body')." '' RouteNote'' author RouteBot labelled the song as the worst of 2014, writing: "I actually thought that English was the performers second language, but then I realised it was Will.i.am! Terrible! What the hell has happened to pop music..." Trevor Smith of ''HotNewHipHop'' wrote in response to the song: "The rapper/producer channels

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

on his new cut, which is more a showcase of Cody Wise's vocals than Will's. It also features some instrumental breaks, placing it firmly in more of an EDM sphere."

Music video

The

was uploaded to

on May 28, 2014, shot in the square aspect ratio of software

and directed by Ben Mor. It was uploaded to Vine the next day as over 40 separate clips. The video, which utilizes

claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

, features both will.i.am and Wise. Its scenes include a birthday party going wrong, twerking in a room decorated with pizzas and will.i.am posing as a priest and as

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. He can be seen at one point in the delivery room taking a selfie while a woman gives birth to a will.i.am lookalike. Popular Viners such as Giovanni Watson, DeStorm Power,

King Bach Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), better known by his stage name King Bach ( ), is a Canadian-American Internet comedian and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, on which he was the most-followed user w ...

, Alpha Cat and Jerry Purdrank also appear.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "It's My Birthday" peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart on July 13, 2014 – for the week ending date July 19, 2014 – becoming will.i.am's tenth chart-topping song in Britain. He scored five of these chart-toppers as a solo artist and five as a member of

the Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

respectively, with the first being "

Where Is the Love? "Where Is the Love?" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 12, 2003, as the lead single from their third album, ''Elephunk'' (2003). The song was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Justin Timberla ...

" in 2003. Liv Moss of the

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

reported on July 9, 2014 that the song was on track to reach number one on the chart before its position was officially announced. The song's combined sales figure was 42,000 on the day of Moss' report, one percent of which was due to audio streams. "It's My Birthday" became Britain's 51st best-selling song of 2014. On September 17, 2021, it was certified Platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

. In Australia, "It's My Birthday" peaked at number four on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and spending a total of 16 weeks on the chart. The song was certified Platinum in 2014 by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

. It ranked at number 74 on the year-end ARIA Singles Chart for 2014. "It's My Birthday" also debuted within the top 40 of charts in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. On the German Top 100 Singles chart, the song peaked at number 41. It reached number 58 and number 71 on the

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Singles Digitál Top 100 and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Singles Digitál Top 100 respectively. It performed the worst in France, charting at number 168 on the

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

chart.

Live performances

will.i.am and Wise performed the song in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2014, appearing on the fourth semi-final of the eight season of ''

'', with will.i.am dancing around in pink during the performance. This marked will.i.am's debut appearance on ''Britain's Got Talent''. On July 21, the duo performed "It's My Birthday" with virtual body doubles on ''The Voice'' Australia, which was said to be "one of the biggest performances of the whole night." On July 29, 2014, they performed the song on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'', accompanied by

the Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

, and again at the first ever BBC Music Awards on December 11, 2014.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Main artist –

* Featured artist – Cody Wise * Associated performer – Cody Wise, will.i.am * Vocals – Cody Wise, will.i.am * Producer –

Damien LeRoy Damien LeRoy, sometimes known professionally by the alias DJ Ammo, is an American disc jockey and music producer from Los Angeles, California. He has co-produced " The Time (Dirty Bit)" along with three other songs from The Black Eyed Peas' sixth ...

, will.i.am * Composer & lyricist –

, Cody Wise, Damien LeRoy, Keith Harris, will.i.am

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by will.i.am Songs written by Damien LeRoy Songs written by Keith Harris (record producer) Songs written by will.i.am UK singles chart number-one singles Will.i.am songs Songs with music by A. R. Rahman Songs written by Cody Wise Songs about birthdays